Loss deflates Baker's good feelings

Even though he managed to give his team one of the biggest, most productive games of his career at Texas Tech, the only thing he could really think about afterwards was the big one he didn't get.

Baker, a senior inside receiver, tied a career-high with nine catches Saturday night against 10th-ranked Kansas State. He finished with 94 yards receiving and continually created an effective one-two punch on offense with senior teammate Derek Dorris, Tech's starting X receiver. Dorris also tied a career high with nine receptions and set another personal career-high with 124 yards receiving in a 28-23 loss to KSU.

''I don't feel I played well,'' Baker said. ''I had two dropped passes, and one could have helped us get a touchdown. It could have been a whole different game if I had caught it.''

Consider it a bad bounce for Baker and the Red Raiders (5-3). Here's the sequence: Tech had just cut KSU's lead to 7-2 on a sack for a safety by Tech strong safety Kevin Curtis. On the ensuing possession in the second quarter, Tech marched 52 yards in 10 plays to the KSU 12-yard line, when Baker nearly helped Tech take its first lead of the game against KSU's celebrated secondary.

Running a slant pattern from the right side of the field, Baker attempted to catch a weakly thrown pass from Tech quarterback Kliff Kingsbury. He looked at it, touched it and nearly reeled it in for a potential score but bounced it off his chest for a KSU interception.

In what may have been the unluckiest of bounces for Tech, the ball ricocheted off Baker's chest into the waiting hands of KSU linebacker Ben Leber, who returned it four yards to the Tech 11. KSU scored later on the drive and took a 14-2 lead with 2:42 left before halftime.

Baker was miffed. He stormed off the field in anger before coming back to make five of his nine catches after halftime.

''We expected him to have a big game just because of how they lined up,'' Tech inside receivers coach Dana Holgorsen said. ''Kliff had to have an out when they blitzed. Based on how they lined up, Tim was a prime candidate to get the ball pretty quick.''

Between the two, Baker and Dorris topped 200 yards receiving on 18 catches against a KSU defense that entered the game as the 15th-best pass defense in the nation with 172 passing yards allowed per game.

Baker consistently got open against senior strong safety Jarrod Cooper; Dorris was able to do the same against senior cornerback Dyshod Carter.

''That's kind of experience on experience,'' Holgorsen said. ''The two guys with experience on our offense are Baker and Dorris. Shoot, those guys stepped up in a big game.''

Dorris stepped up big on Tech's first touchdown drive of the game, when he caught three passes for 69 yards, including a 1-yard scoring catch from Kingsbury with 44 seconds left in the second quarter. The first one was a 41-yard catch on a post pattern.

He later beat Carter on a 27-yard fade route to the 1. Kingsbury wound up with 302 yards passing on 29-of-60 passing. His 60 attempts is a school record for pass attempts in a game for Tech.

''He had a little bit more time to maybe make a read, and that's something we couldn't do last week (in a 56-3 loss against Nebraska)'' Dorris said.